Interview with child prodigy KIDDO TOTO - From Angel to Fanatic.
Image Source @ Kiddo Toto
[EN]
Fresh from the filming of Netflix series Fanático and with a potential third album on the way, Argentine singer, actor and songwriter Kiddo Toto is riding the wave of success right now. A success that seemed almost destined for this young and talented creative, who seems to ooze charisma in front of the camera.
After bursting onto the scene when he starred in the Luis Ortega film El Angel, Kiddo Toto—whose father Rafael Ferro, also a famous actor—seems to have performance in his DNA. However, his skills have not just remained in the realm of show business, as he has also been making a name for himself in the music scene too, with his albums Re$friado (2019) and Mansión Helada (2021).
Most recently he has starred in the new Netflix series Fanático—a pulsing neon-filled affair that delves into the darker nature of the music industry, a part that saw him playing two roles, exhibiting the wide range of skills at his disposal.
GATA took the time to explore the mind of this prodigious talent, touching on Kiddo Toto’s fascination with Japanese subculture, his musical origins and his favourite films so far. Kiddo Toto’s career is at an insane velocity right now but we’re sure there is definitely more to come. Stay locked in.
Snap from Fanatico @ Netflix
[ES]
Recién salido del rodaje de la serie de Netflix Fanático y con un posible tercer disco en camino, el cantante, actor y compositor argentino Kiddo Toto está en la cresta de la ola del éxito en estos momentos. Un éxito que parecía casi destinado a este joven y talentoso creativo, que parece rezumar carisma frente a la cámara.
Tras irrumpir en la escena cuando protagonizó la película de Luis Ortega El Ángel, Kiddo Toto -cuyo padre, Rafael Ferro, también actor- parece llevar la interpretación en su ADN. Sin embargo, sus habilidades no sólo se han quedado en el ámbito del espectáculo, ya que también se ha ido haciendo un hueco en la escena musical, con sus discos Re$friado (2019) y Mansión Helada (2021).
Recientemente ha protagonizado la nueva serie de Netflix Fanático, un asunto pulsante y lleno de neón que se adentra en la naturaleza más oscura de la industria musical, un papel en el que interpretó dos papeles, exhibiendo la amplia gama de habilidades a su disposición.
GATA se tomó el tiempo de explorar la mente de este prodigioso talento, tocando la fascinación de Kiddo Toto por la subcultura japonesa, sus orígenes musicales y sus películas favoritas hasta ahora. La carrera de Kiddo Toto va a una velocidad de vértigo en estos momentos, pero estamos seguros de que hay mucho más por venir.
Permanece atento.
[EN]
How was the return to Buenos Aires from Spain after recording Fanatico?
Image Source @ Kiddo Toto
It's always beautiful to return to Buenos Aires. Every time I reaffirm more and more that it is the best city in the world. My all-time favourite.
[ES]
Qué tal ha ido la vuelta a Buenos Aires de España despues de grabar “Fanatico”?
Siempre es hermoso volver a buenos aires. Cada vez reafirmo mas q es la mejor ciudades del mundo. Mi preferida para todos los tiempos.
[EN]
After spending a few months there for the filming of Fanatico, what have you enjoyed most about Barcelona?
I think what I've enjoyed the most, apart from filming, is meeting new and valuable people, eating new things and feeling the sea air nearby. I've never lived in a beach city before. And that's been nice. Breathing the sea wind. Discovering restaurants and places to drink alcohol, squares, that was also fun. Anyway, what I liked the most about Barcelona was a street called consell de cent.
Image Source @ Kiddo Toto
[ES]
Después de tirarte unos meses allí por el rodaje de “Fanático” qué es lo que más has disfrutado de Barcelona?
Creo q lo q mas he disfrutado a parte de estar filmando, es estar conociendo gente nueva y valiosa, comiendo cosas nuevas y sentir el aire del mar cerca. Nunca habia vivido en una ciudad playera. Y ha sido lindo eso. Respirar el viento del mar. Ir descubriendo restaurantes y sitios para tomar alchol, plazas, eso tambien fue divertido. Igual, lo que mas me gusto de barcelona fue una calle que se llama consell de cent.
[EN]
Do you have any anecdotes from your time there that you would like to share with us?
Some, yes, but I'm not a specialist in anecdotes. One thing I remember and I like is that when I arrived at the apartment where I was going to live for the next two months, the place was full of awful paintings that didn't interest me at all. So I took them all down and started collecting loaves of bread and hung them on the nails. The house was like an exhibition of different types of bread: wholemeal, white, with seeds, poppy seeds…So I felt that it was more like a place that I had built myself, and I felt more at home. When people saw that, they thought it was a joke but I felt comfortable with all that bread, really.
[ES]
Tienes alguna anécdota de tu tiempo por alli que te gustaría contarnos?
Algunas si , pero no soy especialista en eso de las anecdotas. Una cosa q me acuerdo y me gusta es que cuando llegue al apartemento en el que viviria los dos meses siguientes, el lugar estaba lleno de cuadros espantosos que no me interesaban para nada. Entonces los descolgue todos y empeze a coleccionar panes y colgaba los panes en los clavos. La casa era como una exposicion de distintos panes, integrales, blancos, con semillas, de amapola. Asi sentia que era mas un lugar q habia construido yo y me sentia mas a gusto. La gente cuando veia eso pensaba que era un chiste. Y yo me sentia comodo con los panes esos la verdad.
[EN]
We have read your interview where you talk about your career as an actor and other interesting topics, but we want to talk about new things. Is there anything you'd like to tell us that you haven't had the chance to say yet?
I would like to say that I am obsessive about order and if things in my house are out of place even a little bit, I feel that I am not at home. It's an obsession, a question of centering. A mixture of centimetres and feelings. It would also be nice to be able to reveal that the short film Mansion Helada that we made for my second album is one of the most beautiful things I've ever been involved in in my life and very few people have seen it. And that at one point it hit me because I wanted more people to see it and now I'm over it and I think it's a secret for the few. I fell in love with that idea.
If I think about it, there are a lot of things. These are the first things that came to mind now. Also that I have a bit of social anxiety and sometimes I'm afraid to be away from the present. :)
[ES]
Hemos leído tu entrevista con el país donde hablas de cosas de tu carrera como actor y otros tópicos interesantes, pero nosotros queremos hablar de cosas nuevas. Hay algo que te gustaría contarnos y que aún no has tenido la oportunidad de decir?
Me gustaria decir que soy un obsesivo del orden y si en mi casa las cosas estan corridas de lugar aunque sea un poco ya siento que no estoy en mi casa. Es una obsesión, una cuestion de centrimientos. Una mezcla de centimetros y sentimientos. Tambien seria hermoso poder revelar que el Cortometraje “Mansion Helada” que hicimos para mi segundo disco es una de las cosas mas hermosas en las que estuve involucrado en mi vida y muy poca gente lo ha visto. Y eso en un momento me pego porque queria q lo vea mas gente y ahora ya lo supere y me parece un secreto para pocos. Y me enamore de esa idea.
Si me pongo a pensar hay un monton de cosas. Estas son las primeras q se me vinieron a la cabeza ahora. Tambien que tengo un poco de ansiedad social y que me da miedo a veces estar apartado del presente. :)
Image Source @ Kiddo Toto
[EN]
Tell us what a regular day in Toto's life is like.
Days are very different in my life really. I usually live doing a lot of things and it's something I love but also hate. At the moment for example I'm editing a documentary video clip that we filmed in Misiones for a musician I admire a lot called Ilan Amores. His music makes me feel like a child. It reminds me of the music my parents used to play at home when I was a kid. Buena vista social club, Manu Chal. I always try to be around my friends and share audiovisual projects with them. But by law there is always coffee and cigarettes in my days. But the truth is that I don't have very established routines for my day to day life. Luckily, otherwise I would get bored very quickly. That I must admit, is a problem, I get bored of things quickly, so things change all the time or I try to change them myself or see them in a different way to make them seem new. Sometimes I get it wrong, most of the time maybe. And that makes me suffer a bit.
Suffering is nice, it depends on why and it depends on the time of the day.
[ES]
Cuéntanos como es un día regular en la vida de Toto.
Los dias son muy distintos en mi vida la verdad. Usualmente vivo haciendo muchas cosas y es algo que me encanta pero que tambien detesto. En este momento por ejemplo me encuentro editando un videoclip documental que filmamos en misiones para un musico al cual admiro mucho llamado Ilan Amores. Su musica me hace sentir q soy un niño. Me hace acordar a la musica q ponian mis padres en casa cuando era un enano. Buena vista social club, Manu Chal. Siempre trato de estar rodeado de mis amigos y compartiendo proyectos audiovisuales con ellos. Pero por ley siempre hay cafe y cigarrillos en mis dias. Aunque son cosas q estoy tratando de dejar.Pero la verdad q no tengo rutinas muy establecidas para mi dia a dia. Por suerte, sino me aburriria rapido. Eso si debo admitir, es un problema, me aburro rapido de las cosas, entonces las cosas cambian todo el tiempo o trato de cambiarlas yo o de verlas de otra forma para q parezcan nuevas. A veces me sale mal, la mayoria d las veces quizas. Y eso un poco me hace sufrir.
Sufrir es lindo, depende porque cosas y depende la hora del dia igual.
[EN]
Are you still skateboarding?
I don't skateboard anymore, from 14 to 17 I was riding a lot and I wanted to be a pro, to live skating. One day while skateboarding I saw a round where there were people rapping and from then on skateboarding didn't seem interesting anymore and I started to freestyle every day for almost two years.
[ES]
Sigues haciendo Skate?
Ya no ando mas en skate, desde los 14 hasta los 17 andaba muchisimo y queria ser profesional, vivir patinando. Un dia andando en skate vi una ronda donde habia gente rapeando y de apartir de ahi el skate me dejo de parecer interesante y empeze a hacer freestyle todos los dias como por casi 2 años.
Image Source @ Kiddo Toto
[EN]
We at GATA are also super fans of Larry Clark; you mentioned that you loved Kids; if you could be in a movie directed by him, what would it be? Can you imagine acting with the Wassap Rockers skateboarders?!
I would love to have been in Kids. Larry Clark follows me on Instagram and sent me some skateboards as a gift that I now have hanging in my house. It was awesome.
I would have liked him to come to Argentina to film a movie and tell me to play some funny role. Without having to take heroin as much as possible.
[ES]
Nosotros en GATA también somos superfans de Larry Clark, mencionaste que te encantaba KIDS, si pudieras participar en una película dirigida por el, cuál seria? Te Imaginas actuar con los skaters de Wassap Rockers?!
Me gustaria haber estado en kids. Larry Clark me sigue en instagram y me mando unos skates de regalo que ahora tengo colgados en mi casa. Un delirio.
Me hubiese gustado q venga a argentina a filmar una pelicula y me diga a mi de hacer algun papel divertido. Sin tener q tomar heroina en lo posible.
Image Source @ Kiddo Toto
[EN]
What other film directors do you admire?
Leonardo Favio, Amat Escalante, Aki Kaurismaki, Kim Ki-duk, Leos Carax, Federico Luis Tachella, Harmany Korine, Cassavettes, Luis Ortega, Herzog, Buñuel, Carlos Saura, Sorrentino and a million others.
[ES]
Que otros directores de cine admiras?
Leonardo favio, Amat escalante, Aki kaurismaki, Kim ki duk, Leos carax, Federico Luis Tachella, Harmany Korine, Cassavettes, Luis Ortega, Herzog, Buñuel, Carlos Saura, Sorrentino y a un millon mas.
[EN]
You wanted to study graphic design and you ended up in the world of cinema and the microphone, it seems that everything that interests you has always been creative. Is there another kind of art you'd like to try one day?
My dream is to be a chef, otherwise I would have liked to be a professional tennis player.
[ES]
Quisiste estudiar diseno grafico y has acabado en el mundo del cine y al microfono, parece que todo lo que te interesa siempre ha sido creativo. Hay otro tipo de arte que te gustaria probar algun dia?
Mi sueño es ser chef, sino me hubiese gustado ser tenista profesional.
Image Source @ Kiddo Toto
[EN]
How did you end up becoming a musician?
Because of freestyle. As I was telling you I did two years and at that time I was so enthusiastic about rapping all day that I also grabbed beats from youtube and wrote songs in a notebook at school. I would record them with the voice notes on my mobile phone and send them to my friends. That was like the first step. Then another thing was that two of my lifelong friends are musicians and producers so being close to them helped me a lot to end up where I am.
[ES]
Como acabaste convirtiendote en musico?
Por el freestyle. Como les contaba hice dos años y en ese momento estaba tan entusiasmado todo el dia con rapear que tambien agarraba beats de youtube y escribia canciones en un cuaderno del colegio. Las grababa con lqs notas de voz de mi celular y se las mandaba a mis amigos. Ese fue como el primer paso. Despues otra cosa fue que dos de mis amigos de toda la vida son musicos y productores entonces estar cerca suyo me ayudo mucho a acabar en donde estoy.
[EN]
Who have been your favourite singers or bands?
Cypress Hill, Kanye West, Atahualpa Yupanqui, Leonardo Favio, Manu Chao, Nicolas Jaar, Fred Again, James Blake, Bon Iver, Brockhampton, Los Espiritus, Frank Ocean, Charly García, Sega Bodega.
[ES]
Cuales han sido tus cantantes o bandas de musica favoritas?
Cypress Hill, Kanye West, Atahualpa Yupanqui, Leonardo favio, Manu chao, Nicolas jaar, fred again, james blake, bon iver, brockhampton, los espiritus, frank ocean, charly garcia, Sega bodega.
[EN]
If you had to choose, do you prefer fictional films or raw, factual films?
Films made with love and with a real purpose. After that I don't care. Although I prefer fiction or taking real facts and turning them into a fantasy.
Image Source @ Kiddo Toto
Also, a fictional film can be much cruder than a real fact. That's a real fact. Hehe.
[ES]
Si tuvieras que elegir; prefieres películas de ficción o crudeza y hechos reales?
Peliculas hechas con amor y con un proposito real. Despues me da igual. Aunque prefiero la ficcion o tomar hechos
Reales y volverlos una fantasia. Tambien una pelicula ficticia puede ser mucho mas cruda q un hecho real. Eso es un hecho real. Je
[EN]
We know that one day you would like to direct a film; if you could learn from a master, who would you choose? And what genre of film would it be?
Hahaha mmmm good question. I like to learn from my friends. They are masters without the title, those are usually the best. I'd like to see all kinds of directors on set and steal and learn things. Herzog, Paul Thomas Anderson, Lucia Seles, and Bresson, learning from people who make small films and people who make huge films. Speaking in terms of production, let's say. I don't know what genre I'd like to make a film in, I guess I don't care. As long as I feel it's real, that's enough for me. I would never make a musical though, I don't like that genre at all.
[ES]
Sabemos que algún día te gustaría dirigir una película, si pudieras aprender de un maestro, a quien escogerías? Y que genero de película seria?
Jajaja mmmm buena pregunta. Me gusta aprender de mis amigos. Ellos son unos maestros sin el Titulo, esos suelen ser los mejores. Me gustaria presenciar rodajes de todo tipo de directores y robar y aprender cosas. Herzog, paul thomas anderson, lucia seles, bresson, aprender de gente q haga cine pequeño y gente que haga cine enorme. Hablando en terminos de produccion digamos. Nose de que genero me gustaria hacer una pelicula, supongo que me da igual. Mientras la sienta verdadera para mi es suficiente. Aunque jamas haria un musical, ese genero no me gusta para nada.
[EN]
We met you when you came to Japan, what did you like the most about your stay and when will we see you here again?
Well, what I liked the most was that I felt like I was on another planet. I felt like I was in a virtual reality and everything I saw was new to me, I felt like a kid discovering things all the time. Making the two 1 two video was one of the most fun things that happened to me, I remember it so fondly that it's a tattoo.
I hope to be able to go there soon, to film things or go to a Japanese rave that I'm really intrigued by, I guess they are there and they must be pretty fun. Or yes, or one thing that would make me crazy would be to go to Japan to do a show. God hear me. Or read me
[ES]
Te conocimos cuando viniste a Japón, que es lo que más te gusto de tu estancia y cuando volveremos a verte por aquí?
Pues lo q mas me gusto fue sentir que estaba en otro planeta. Senti que estaba en una realidad virtual y todo lo que veia era nuevo para mi, me sentia como un niño descubriendo cosas todo el tiempo. Hacer el video de two 1 two fue una de las cosas mas divertidas q me paso, lo recuerdo con tanto cariño que es un tatuaje.
Ojala poder ir pronto para alla, a filmar cosas o ir a una rave japonesa que me da mucha intriga, supongo q hay y deben ser bastante divertidas. O si o una cosa que me dejaria muy loco seria ir a hacer un show a japon. Dios me escuche. O me lea
Video Credits
Directed & Edited by Gabriel Bosisio
Produced by Marta Espinosa
DOP Hans Bobanovits
[EN]
What do you like the most about Tokyo's culture/subculture?
The way they are and their silence. Their drama is less exaggerated than in the West. The lights and the drunk people in suits waiting for the bus. The monstrous noise of the casinos. And what the alleys hide. Feeling that when those monstrous noises are turned off there might be a ghost walking next to you. Then a person who interests me a lot is Takeshi Kitano, his filmography and I recently read a book of his short stories that is beautiful. It's called Child. Everything is very impressive in Tokyo, especially the rhythm in which everything happens.
[ES]
Qué es lo que más te gusta o llama la atención de la cultura/subcultura de Tokio?
La forma de ser y su silencio. Su drama menos exagerado que en occidente. Las luces y la gente de traje borracha esperando el colectivo. El ruido monstruoso de los casinos. Y lo que esconden los callejones. Sentir que cuando se apagan esos ruidos montruosos puede haber un fantasma caminando al lado tuyo. Despues una persona que me interesa muchisimo es takeshi kitano, su filmografia y hace poco lei un libro suyo de cuentos que es hermoso. Llamado “niño”. Todo es muy impresionante en tokio, sobre todo el ritmo al q pasa todo.
[EN]
What's next for TOTO after "Fanático"?
I hope to work on a 3rd album and all the shows to come. I hope for many things. But above all, I would like to be able to wait without so many expectations and let the things that are coming and will come to surprise me for what they are and not for what I expect from them.
"You're not in love with me, you're in love with your idea of me" says Sharon Olds. And I think it's better not to get too much of an idea or you'll be disillusioned. I also hope that I can be where I am and that it will be enough for me. And last but not least, don't stop asking me questions. :) ;( :( :)
[ES]
Qué es lo próximo que le espera a TOTO después de "Fanático"?
Espera poder trabajar en su 3er disco y en todos los shows que vienen. Espera muchas cosas. Pero sobre todo me gustaria poder esperar sin tantas expectativas y dejar que las cosas que vienen y vendran sorprendan por como son y no por lo que yo espero de ellas.
“Vos no estas enamorado de mi, estas enamorada de tu idea de mi” dice Sharon Olds. Y pienso q es mejor no hacerse tanta idea sino uno se desilusiona. Espero tambien poder estar donde estoy y que con eso me alcanze. Y por ultimo, no dejar de hacerme preguntas. :) ;( :( :)
Image Source @ Kiddo Toto
[EN]
In GATA we have started a new section where we mention the 5-6 favourite films of our favourite artists. Would you like to tell us your selection? Which films have influenced or inspired you in your life?
GLORIA by Cassavetes
PICKPOCKET by Robert Bresson
GOOD TIME by the Safdie brothers
MIRACLE IN MILAN by Vittorio de Sica
CHRONICLE OF A BOY ALONE by Leonardo Favio
HOLY MOTORS by Leos Carax
